Finance Business Partner - Investment

Cornerstone; England; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Cornerstone is seeking a Finance Business Partner for a hybrid role near Reading, three days on site. You’ll lead investment governance, build robust business cases and drive margin optimisation across units while partnering with senior leaders to translate strategy into financially robust plans.

To succeed, you should be a qualified accountant with 3+ years post-qualification experience and strong modelling, analytical and communication skills to influence senior stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant status with 3+ years post-qualification experience.
• Proven experience in commercial finance, business partnering or a contract-focused environment.
• Strong commercial acumen and a focus on value creation.
• Excellent financial modelling, analytical and problem-solving capability.

Responsibilities

• Lead Investment Governance: manage the internal Investment Committee process with robust investment cases.
• Build compelling business cases: develop financial models, scenario analysis, ROI, risks and returns.
• Drive margin optimisation across business units to identify revenue opportunities and cost-saving initiatives.
• Be a trusted business partner: work with operational leads and senior stakeholders to translate strategy into financially robust plans.
• Provide commercial leadership: support strategic initiatives, contracts, investments with clear financial insight.
• Turn data into action: analyse monthly performance to identify trends, risks and opportunities.
• Influence decision-making: present complex financial information clearly to senior levels.
• Track progress: deliver timely reporting on margin initiatives and financial performance.

Skills

Investment governance

Commercial finance

Business partnering

Financial modelling

Stakeholder engagement

Education

ACCA/CIMA/ACA or QBE

Tools

Power BI

Excel

Job description

Supporting one of the UK's largest infrastructure providers. As they continue to strengthen that foundation and expand their reach, they are entering an exciting period of acceleration

Why This Role Matters

Great investment decisions and strong commercial discipline are critical to sustainable growth. As the Finance Business Partner, you’ll play a leading role in the company's process while driving a company-wide Margin Optimisation programme. Working closely with senior leaders and operational teams, you’ll make sure material investments are backed by robust business cases, clear ROI, appropriate risk assessment and high-quality financial modelling. You’ll also help identify revenue opportunities and cost savings across the business, turning financial insight into practical actions that improve profitability. This is a hybrid role, working three days per week from the company site near Reading in Berkshire.

What You’ll Do

• Lead Investment Governance: Manage the internal Investment Committee process, providing constructive challenge and ensuring investment cases are financially robust.
• Build compelling business cases: Develop and review financial models, scenario analysis, ROI, risks and returns to support informed investment decisions.
• Drive margin optimisation: Work across multiple business units to identify revenue opportunities and cost-saving initiatives that support the programme target.
• Be a trusted business partner: Work closely with operational leads and senior stakeholders, translating business strategy into financially robust plans and actions.
• Provide commercial leadership: Support strategic initiatives, contract renewals, investments and commercial proposals with clear financial insight.
• Turn data into action: Analyse monthly performance to identify trends, risks and commercial opportunities.
• Influence decision-making: Present complex financial information clearly and confidently, providing constructive challenge at senior levels.
• Track progress: Deliver timely, insightful reporting on margin initiatives and financial performance to senior leadership.

What You’ll Bring

• Qualified accountant status (CIMA, ACCA, ACA or QBE) with 3+ years’ post-qualification experience.
• Proven experience in commercial finance, business partnering or a contract-focused environment.
• Strong commercial acumen and a genuine focus on value creation.
• Excellent financial modelling, analytical and problem-solving capability.
• Confidence engaging with, challenging and influencing senior stakeholders.
• The ability to communicate complex financial information clearly to non-finance audiences.
• Excellent attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, changing environment.
• A proactive, motivated and collaborative approach.
• It would be great if you also have: Experience within telecoms, infrastructure, construction or services. Experience of long-term contracts and customer commercial frameworks. Exposure to financial systems, data visualisation or digital finance tools.

Our commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) is fundamental to our success. We strive to cultivate an inclusive environment where every employee feels valued, respected, and empowered. By embracing unique perspectives and experiences, we drive innovation and drive our organisation forward, therefore, we recognise the importance of welcoming applications from candidates of all backgrounds. We want to ensure everyone is able to present their best self throughout the recruitment process so if you require any adjustments, please let us know.